//------------------------------//
// Meetings in the Tower 
// Story: Terror in Equestria 10:  The Return of Tirek 
// by StormLuna 
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When they got out of the archives, Ruby began to head towards the dining hall while Colgate began to head up towards her chambers.  She was unsure as to whether Ruby should be going into the dining hall without her given the chances of a major argument erupting between her, her son and who was her husband.  She suggested, "Ruby, how about you come up with me before we head in there.  I have to tap into the eye." 

Ruby wasn't overly fond of what almost seemed to be an order from Colgate as she replied, "Everything will be fine.  You go on up and see what is going on." 

Colgate sighed, "Very well but please don't get into a fight with White Magick inside my tower, alright?"

Ruby nodded and they parted ways.  As Colgate headed towards her chamber, she couldn't help but wonder how the other leaders would react, particularly Twilight.  She laughed to herself, "Oh I bet when little Twily sees me now, she will cower back in fear and know not to cross my path!" 

As she arrived in her chambers, the very first thing she did was tap into the eye and the first thing she scanned was other places across the world.  She was pleased when she saw that everything was going normally, she then noticed that the train from Ponyville was approaching and this brought a smile to her face.  She then looked off in the direction of Vanhoover and was angered by what she saw, she noticed that Tirac had turned many ponies into beasts and that Tirek had grown a fair amount as he was stealing magic. 

She began screaming every obscenity at the book.  She was so loud that she had attracted the attention of her generals down on the base.  Both Dark Night and Lightning Storm flew up to Colgate's balcony and headed into her chambers.  Dark Night asked, "Colgate, what is wrong?  Why are you screaming so loudly?"

Lightning Storm added, "Is it those centaurs?"

Colgate yelled, "Yes, it is."  She pointed her wing towards the door and continued, "Follow me down to the dining hall.  We shall await the arrival of the others and then we can have a meeting about how we will handle them." 

The two nodded and they followed Colgate down to the dining hall where they were greeted by her first guests, Ruby and those she brought with her.  Blue Star and White Magick's jaws both dropped open when they saw Colgate and what was around her neck.  White Magick gasped, "Colgate, is that Grogar's........"

Colgate interrupted, "It WAS Grogar's collar but now it is mine.  Take a look at this, it has my energy tied into it now and it has become part of me." 

White Magick approached her and he took a closer look at it.  Not only did he see how the collar and bells were different but he also saw that Colgate had grown.  He asked, "How Colgate?  How did you do this and WHY would you alter it?"

Colgate replied, "I will go over everything in more detail when the others arrive." 

They also noticed that her generals were with her and this brought concern from them.  Blue Star asked, "Colgate, why are your generals with you?  Has something happened?  Have those centaurs began using their magic on ponies?"

Colgate sighed, "Look, I'll tell everypony what is going on when the others arrive, alright?"

It was not long after that when Colgate heard pounding on her door.  She answered and the other world leaders along with Twilight's friends were surprised to see Colgate's new appearance and many of them, even the normally tough Scootaloo gave her a nervous look when she saw a collar around Colgate's neck.  Colgate saw this and asked, "Scootaloo, why the nervous look?" 

Scootaloo knew that she couldn't show too much nervousness around her mentor.  She replied, "Oh, I'm just surprised.  It looks like you have grown and why in Equestria do you have a collar around your neck?"

Colgate pointed her wing inside and replied, "I will tell everypony everything when we get inside."

Everypony knew that was her way of telling them to follow her.  Once they arrived in the dining hall, everypony would be even more shocked when they saw who was there.  LaurFa's jaw dropped open as she asked, "Ruby, is that you?"

Ruby replied, "Yes, it is me."  She then turned towards Twilight, flared up her horn and began to approach her.  Twilight was terrified when she saw her, so terrified that she hid behind her friends.  Ruby snarled, "Well, well, well, I see it is the cowardly little seductress." 

Twilight was terrified but her friends were not.  Fluttershy flared her horn up and snapped, "Just who do you think you are?  Who do you think you are to go after Twilight?"

Colgate could tell that things would go downhill quickly if she didn't stop this so she yelled, "Ruby, Fluttershy, stop it!  Right now is not the time for confrontations.  Things have happened that require us to prepare to take on the biggest threats this world has seen in eons." 

Both Fluttershy and Ruby calmed down and saw Colgate pointing her horn towards the table and knew that was her way of saying to take a seat.  Everypony sat down and began to watch Colgate as she began to circle the table.  After a moment of silence, LaurFa asked, "Colgate, I know something has happened but I want to know a couple things.  What is that around your neck and why is it that you are suddenly taller than the rest of us?"

Colgate initially wasn't thrilled that somepony would ask a question that would delay her in getting to the issue at hand but then figured that perhaps it happened for a reason.  She figured that this would be her chance to let everypony else know about her enhanced powers, to make sure that nopony would dare cross her. 

She gave most of them a smile and replied, "Well let me tell you something.  When I along with White Magick and his little Twily headed to Dream Valley to retrieve" she pointed at the locket around Ruby's neck before continuing, "the Rainbow of Light, I decided to use a spell that Ruby had taught me to duplicate that collection and create replicas that I now have down in my archives." 

They all knew about how Ruby had perished in the battle in Tambelon and were curious about how she had returned.  Celestia turned to Ruby and asked, "How Ruby, how were you able to return from the dead?"

Ruby pointed her wing towards Colgate and replied, "Colgate used a resurrection spell that I wrote to bring me back.  After all, my subjects do need a queen and I will be a valuable asset to our struggle ahead." 

Twilight glared first at her and then at Colgate.  She snapped, "NO!  The only reason Colgate brought you back was to try and shatter the life bond between me and White Magick!" 

Neither one of the two gave Twilight the satisfaction of a response.  Colgate continued, "Well, now that all of you know how I was able to bring Ruby back to our world," she pointed her wing towards her collar and continued, "I suppose I should answer LaurFa's question regarding the collar and my size." 

LaurFa replied, "Yes, please tell us."  Her tone of voice became more of a sneer as she continued, "I'm quite certain it is something bad though." 

Colgate continued, "Ok, back to the Dream Valley collection.  I was reading through it and I discovered that there was a time, before they had the Rainbow of Light, that Tirac had attacked Dream Valley and began to use his relic to turn the ponies into beasts.  Now I know you'll likely not believe this but at one time Grogar was not an enemy of ponies and he used his magic to repel the Rainbow of Darkness.  Even more surprising, he assisted in forcing Tirac back into Tartarus before turning on ponykind." 

Everypony's jaws dropped open.  White Magick gasped, "Seriously?  You mean to tell me that you found something in one of the books that I didn't know happened?"

LaurFa added, "I find that very hard to believe." 

Colgate sighed, "Tell you what, after the meeting I will take you down into the archives and you can read about it." 

The two knew that Colgate would not offer to do that if she were lying about it.  White Magick sighed, "Very well, I believe you but still, how did you get that collar and why is it that you are taller?"

Colgate replied, "You see, after reading about that I decided that I could acquire a relic that would aid us in defeating the Rainbow of Darkness in the event that the Rainbow of Light wasn't enough." 

Everypony who didn't know about it already gasped in shock.  Twilight asked, "Wait a minute, are you telling us that you somehow acquired Grogar's collar?"

Colgate replied, "Yes, I did.  After I found out what I did, I raised Tambelon from the depths.  After Dark Night and I killed off some trogals, we went into what was his palace, I cast the duplication spell on his library and before we left, I went over by his corpse and took his collar." 

Twilight flared up her horn, grabbed Colgate in her aura and yelled, "You raised Tambelon from the depths?  Don't you know how illegal that is?"

Colgate quickly broke free of her hold, flared her horn up and as she fired a bolt of energy at Twilight, the bells on her collar lit up right as Twilight became imprisoned in a cage like she did when she and her friends were abducted by Grogar so long ago.  She snapped, "Listen Twily, Tambelon lies within what is Coastal Equestria and I will do what I please within my borders." 

Everypony in the room gasped when they saw this.  LaurFa stood tall, approached Colgate and demanded, "You release Twilight from that cage, now!" 

Colgate fired another bolt at Twilight, causing the cage to disappear.  She sighed, "Oh fine."  She then turned to Twilight and snapped, "Let me tell you this though little Twily, if you even attempt to grab me in your aura again, your punishment will be worse, far worse." 

At that moment everypony, even her strongest allies knew that something had happened with her.  They knew that her temper was suddenly much more volatile and knew that even challenging her would be a mistake.

LaurFa said, "It is obvious you have his dark powers but tell me, why does it look different?"  She leaned in closer and saw that every single bell had her cutie mark on it.  She again stood tall, spread her wings and continued, "And how is it that it has your cutie mark on it?"

Colgate replied, "Well I found the original spell in the Tambelon collection that went into detail about how the witches that lived in the Volcano of Gloom forged it for Grogar and cast a spell on it to tie it to him.  After going into a trance and focusing on his collar, I knew what I had to do to tie it to me.  Long story short, I cast a spell that made it mine." 

Everything Colgate was telling them not only gave them reason to be concern, but in the case of some of them, it terrified them, especially after seeing what she did to Twilight.  Twilight cowered back and asked, "So do you now have both your magic and his magic or do you only have his now?"

Colgate knew that this was her chance to strike fear into the heart of Twilight and let the others know about how truly powerful she was.  She boasted, "Don't you worry Twily, I still have my own and I have Grogar's but the funny thing is, my powers have been amplified numerous times since I tied myself to this."

LaurFa again approached Colgate and noticed something odd about the collar.  Unlike it was with Grogar, that it was worn like a necklace, it appeared as though it had actually become part of Colgate.  It looked like something that could not be removed.  She asked, "Colgate, how did you do this?  How did you get this collar to literally become part of you?"

Colgate replied, "I have no idea.  It was just that when I put this around my neck, that it became part of me and that I grew a bit."  She gave everypony a smile and continued, "So unlike it was with Grogar, this baby can't be cut off and I won't have to worry about losing my extra powers!" 

With the exception of Dark Night and Lightning Storm, everypony gave her a nervous smile.  Colgate continued, "Why the nervous looks?  You all should see this as a good thing because no matter what happens, we won't have to worry about me not being able to attack them with all my magic." 

Scootaloo, who felt like she could say more to her than others asked, "Colgate, I know you're happy that you have this extra power but that isn't going to corrupt you will it?  It won't cause you to turn on us will it?"

Colgate replied, "Scootaloo, you should know I would never do......"

Celestia interrupted, "If that is the case then why did you imprison Twilight in a cage?" 

Colgate replied, "Because she attacked me, that's why."

Twilight shouted, "Well that is turning on u......"

Colgate interrupted, "Alright, I think we have gone over everything involving how I got bigger and how I tied this collar to myself.  Now it is time to discuss what is actually important." 

Luna asked, "And what is that Dear Colgate?"

Colgate replied, "I tapped into the eye earlier today and I have some really bad news.  Both centaurs have reached Vanhoover.  Tirac has used the Rainbow of Darkness on many of them and Tirek has stolen a lot of magic and because of that, he has grown large enough that he has taken on his red form."   She then turned to Celestia and Luna and asked, "You two have handled him in the past so what is the best way to do this?"

Celestia replied, "Well given that he was not huge when Scorpan alerted us about his activities, casting him into Tartarus was fairly easy.  When we confront him, draining him of his powers and throwing him back in there will not be so easy." 

Colgate scoffed, "Throw him back into Tartarus?  That is not an option here, we will not rest until not just him, but Tirac are both how I want them, dead." 

By that point everypony knew that even trying to reason with Colgate over slaying their enemies was pointless so they simply nodded in agreement but one would bring something up, LaurFa, "So Colgate, since you have all these extra powers and seem to have taken charge here, how do you want to do this?  Do you want us to fly out and attack them immediately or do you want to wait until we can catch them in the act of attacking a city?"

Colgate knew that it would likely be best if they headed out to wipe them out immediately but a part of her wanted to confront them there, at her tower.  She replied, "Well Vanhoover is a total loss and I'm not sure where they will head next.  I will say one thing though, with Tirek continuing to get bigger, those two will be able to move along much more quickly." 

LaurFa suggested, "If that is the case, don't you think it would be best if we head out immediately to take them on?"

Colgate replied, "Look, I want to take them on out in an open area, an area where I think we will have a tactical advantage."  A growing part of her was wanting to dismiss the meeting and have a private meeting between those that she knew would likely support what she truly wanted, Scootaloo and her generals.  She pointed her wing towards the exit and finished, "Dismissed.  You may go to Marentreal or relax somewhere, I just need time to think and monitor those two." 

Everypony nodded and began to head towards the exit until Colgate ordered, "Scootaloo, Dark Night, Lightning Storm, could you three follow me?  We need to talk."

Scootaloo asked, "Why?  We went over everything in the meeting." 

Colgate replied, "Not quite."  She pointed her wing towards the archives and continued, "Some things are best kept between the strongest and closest of allies." 

The three did not question Colgate and followed her down.  As they headed through each door, Colgate closed and locked it.  When they got to the very back of the archives where the Tambelon collection was stored, Colgate asked, "Alright everypony, I want to know something.  What do you think the current situation is with our allies?"

The three looked at one another before Scootaloo replied, "Well, it seems like none of them are taking this seriously.  It seems like none of them want to slay our enemies." 

Dark Night added, "I'm going to be honest with you.  I think most of them, even Ruby, aren't entirely sold on your plan and I could see some of them, LaurFa in particular, turning on you after we slay those two." 

Lightning Storm finished, "Personally, I think Twilight will be nothing but a liability and those friends of hers, I could see them betraying us after we do this." 

Colgate agreed, "I know Ruby is a close friend of mine and a strong ally but I know she doesn't exactly like my extra powers."  She turned to Scootaloo and continued, "I know you are a bit nervous but remember this, you are like the daughter I never had and I know you wouldn't betray me." 

Scootaloo replied, "Nope, I'd never turn on my mentor." 

Colgate nodded, "Good."  She then focused on all three of them and continued, "Now for the primary reason I brought you down here.  I know some of the leaders want to do this as soon as possible but I have other plans, much more satisfying plans." 

Out of the three, Dark Night knew how her mind worked the most.  He asked, "Do you want to wait until they get here, regardless of how big Tirek is and how many beasts Tirac has accompanying them?"

Colgate replied, "Yes, that is what I want.  I want to bring them down here and then there is something else I want.  I want to take the heart of a little tyrant on MY soil." 

Scootaloo gasped, "Wait a minute, you want to do all this just for that?  You seriously want to take that big of a risk so you can kill and eat Twilight on your own soil?"

Dark Night questioned her decision, "Are you truly sure about that?  Wouldn't it be easier if we took him on somewhere else, such as in Equestria?"

Lightning Storm suggested, "What if he was to be headed towards Ponyville before too long?  What if we killed those two there?"  He then began to laugh, "And then you could feast on Twilight at the base of her castle!" 

Colgate developed a huge smile on her face, "You know general, I like your way of thinking!  Doing that there would be much more satisfying!"  She looked towards the exit and continued, "For now though, let's conclude this meeting.  I need to go tap into the eye" she turned to Scootaloo and continued, "and you try to act normal around the other leaders.  If they ask you anything, just make something up, something that would be mundane and have nothing to do with this, ok?"

Scootaloo replied, "My lips are sealed." 

She turned towards her generals and they added, "Don't worry, we won't say a thing." 

Colgate replied, "Good, now let's get going."

The three left the archives and were followed by Colgate as she locked each door on the way out.  Once they got upstairs, she rushed up to her chambers and immediately tapped into the eye.  When she zeroed in towards the direction on Vanhoover, she noticed that Tirek was larger than he was before and Tirac had roughly a dozen beasts.  One thing that did bring a bit of a smile to her face was that they were headed towards Canterlot.  She said to herself, "Excellent, once they do what they want there, they will likely head to Ponyville!"